Taunton Titans finish tournament on high note

The postseason finished on a very positive note for the Taunton Titans 13U baseball team.

The Titans completed play in Pool D of the Open Division in the New England AAU 13U Spring League Playoffs with a hard-fought 7-6 win over the Storm on Sunday at Weir Field.

The win allowed the Titans to finish the tournament with a 1-2 mark.

“The kids deserved this win,” Taunton head coach Jim Dennison said. “They worked hard all year and played hard all year. We told them before the game to go out and play for each other. That is what it is all about. These kids worked too hard all season not to be able to get this win today.”

The Baseball Unlimited Tigers of Waltham won the Pool D crown and earned a spot in the New England Tournament with a 10-0 victory over the Southern Maine Tomahawks on Sunday morning at Weir Field.

Baseball Unlimited finished with a 3-0 record during the weekend. The Tomahawks were second with a 2-1 mark. Taunton finished third with its 1-2 mark. The Storm, who are based in Marshfield, were 0-3.

Taunton’s Ben Joyce and Raynham’s Chris Barstad combined for the win on the mound for the Titans. Joyce started for the team and went the first four innings to get the win. The right-hander surrendered six runs and 10 this with four strikeouts and two walks.

“I thought Ben pitched really well,” Dennison said. “He had a little trouble throwing strikes with his curveball. But he got out of a lot of jams for us and kept fighting all day.”

Barstad entered in a tough spot in the fifth inning and got through that frame. He then pitched himself in and out of trouble in the sixth inning to earn the save. Over his two innings of work, the right-hander allowed no runs and two hits with one strikeout and one walk.

“Chris really got out of a tough situation in the fifth,” Dennison said. “But he is a very resilient kid. He has come in and done the job for us all season.”

The game was halted at the conclusion of the top of the sixth inning due to the rule that each contest of pool play must be completed within a two-hour window.

Storm starting pitcher Ted Nelson battled Taunton over his five innings. The right-hander allowed seven runs and six hits with four strikeouts. He walked six batters and hit one.

Dante Greaves of Raynham had an outstanding day at the plate for Taunton. He went 3-for-3 with two singles, a double, three RBI and one run scored. Barstad, batting lead-off, collected a walk and was hit by a pitch. He knocked home one run and scored two more.

Taunton’s Trevor Pietrzyk had a walk, a sacrifice bunt and scored a run. Middleboro’s Dan Bukunt had a single and a run scored, while Jack Delaney of Middleboro had an RBI single. Middleboro’s Jake Stiner worked out a pair of walks. Joyce walked once. Taunton’s Brad Bombard had a walk and a run scored.

Taunton looked to have control of this game early on, holding a 5-1 lead after two innings. The Titans scored three times in the bottom of the first to take a 3-0 lead. The team had its first four batters of the game reach base. Barstad scored on an error and Pietrzyk raced home on a double by Greaves. Bukunt scored on another error for the third run of the inning.

After the Storm scored a run in the top of the second, the Titans added two runs in the bottom of the frame. The team loaded the bases with no outs. With one out, Greaves laced an opposite-field, two-run bloop single to left field to score both Bombard and Barstad and make it 5-1.

But the Storm responded in a big way in the top of the third, scoring four times to tie the game at 5-5.

Taunton regained the lead with a run in the bottom of the third. Dighton’s Colby Boyer, who reached base on a fielder’s choice, came home on a bloop single to center field by Barstad.

The Titans would then score what turned out to be the deciding run in the bottom of the fourth. Greaves reached base with two outs on an infield single. He stole second base and scored on a bloop single to right field by Delaney to make it 7-5.

The Storm scored once in the top of the fifth inning to close the gap to 7-6, but could have easily had more if not for the pitching of Barstad. With Taunton in front 7-6, Barstad entered the game and walked the first batter to load the bases with no outs. But he got out of the tough jam by getting the next hitter to foul out to first base. He then got a strikeout and a fly ball to center field to end the threat.

But the Storm looked to be in position to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Pinch hitter Nick Valianti slapped a lead-off single to right. He stole second and advanced to third on a one-out single by Tom Joyce. Derek Frank then hit a ground ball to shortstop with Valianti being caught in a rundown. Valianti was finally tagged out at home by Barstad for the second out. The Storm’s best hitter, Ethan Phelps, then hit a pop up behind the plate which Delaney made a terrific play on for the final out of the game.

The Titans finished their 2014 campaign with a terrific overall record of 30-13-1 in 44 games.

“The guys had to play a lot of games,” Dennison said. “They had to learn to dig deep. I feel the season as a whole was very successful. This team exceeded my expectations by the third week of the season. This was a very smart group of players, who did a terrific job grasping what we were trying to teach them.”